Saturday, November 13, 2010

Chart of the day

In the wake of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision we heard a lot of hyperventilating on the left that the ruling was all but the final nail in American democracy, heralding the official completion of the transition to plutocracy and the rule of corporations, or some such. As this chart demonstrates, however, the record inflow of money for this year's election also corresponded with the greatest ouster of incumbent politicians in the House of Representatives in recent memory. Call me crazy, but greater turnover and more competitive elections seems the very lifeblood of democracy.

This also is quite literally a graphic illustration of why so many politicians are so darn eager to "get money out of politics" and pass various "campaign finance reforms" that attempt to reduce spending. It's all about self-preservation.